Automatic gas-regulator



(No Model.)

A. J.' STEWART.

AUTOMATIGGAS REGULATOL A No. 332,568. Patented Deo. 15, 1885.

.dttorney J mVEJvToR N. PETERS. Plu'AvLhngnplwr, Washington, D. C.

(LHV

' WITJVESSES.

Wuu-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVIN J. STEWART, OF BLUFFTON, INDIANA.

AUTOMATIC GAS-REGULATOR.

BPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,568, dated December15, 1885. Application filed November 2, 1885. Serial No. 181,684. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known' that I, ALVIN J. STEWART, a`

citizen of the United States, residing at Bluffand I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and inwhich- Figure l is a vertical sectional view of my improvedfluid-pressure regulator, and Fig. 2 is a similar view taken at rightangles to the same. f

Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts in both thegures.

My invention has relation to pressure-regulators for fluids, and moreparticularly to devices for decreasing the pressure of fluids; and itconsists in the improved construction and combination of parts of such adevice in which a uid may enter the apparatus at a high pressure and mayleave the apparatus at a low pressure, as hereinafter more fully delscribed and claimed.

Although this apparatus may be used for regulating the pressure of anyfluid, it is principally designed to reduce the pressure of natural gas,as it comesfrom the well under too high a pressure to be convenientlyconveyed in pipes or advantageously burned, and by the use of myapparatus the pressure may be reduced from a pressure of one thousandpounds to the square inch down to a pressure of two ounces to the squareinch, as proved by actual test, thus rendering it possible to adjust theapparatus to a main from a natural-gas well and reduce the pressure ofthe gas to a convenient and practicable pressure, which will notendanger the safety of the place where it is used or of the personsusing the gas, besides rendering it more easily portable without thenecessity of using extra-strong pipes for conveying it.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the lowerlow-pressure cylinder, to the bottom of which is secured the lowerhighpressure cylinder, B, into which the inlet-pipe C enters at itsbottom. This lower highpressure chamber communicates, by means of twotubes, D D, passing through the low-pressure chamber, with the upperhigh-pressure chamber, E, which is preferably formed in the shape of acupola, and which is provided with a suitable stuffing-box, F, in itstop. The upper sides of the top and bottom of the lowpressure cylinder,and consequently of the bottom and top of the two high-pressurechambers, are formed with registering valve-seats G and H, the upperseat being of a smaller 'diameter than the lower seat, and both seatshaving their edges beveled, and two valves, I and J, fit upon theseseats and are secured upon a common valve-stem, K, passing up throughthe stuffing-box in the top of the upper high-pressure chamber. Thesides of the low-pressure cylinder have two curved pipes, L L, enteringthem at opposite sides, and the upper ends of these arms enter the upperlowpressure cylinder, M, the top of which has the outlet-pipe N securedin it. The bottom O of the said low-pressure cylinder is bulged downwardand has an aperture, P, in its center, through which the valvestempasses, the said aperture registering with the stufting-box and anotherapertureor air-inlet, Q. The upper end of the valve-stem inside of thebottom of the cylinder is formed with a fiat disk, R, and a flexiblediaphragm, S, is stretched at the lower end of the cylinder above thedownwardly-bulged bottom.

It will now be seen that the gas under high pressure enters the lowerhigh-pressure chamber, and from it passes to the upper highpressurechamber through the connecting`- tubes. This will cause an equalpressure upon both valves-an upward pressure upon the lower valve and adownward pressure upon the upper valve; but the lower valve beinglarger, it will overcome the pressure upon the upper valve and raise thevalves, allowing aquantity of gas to enter thelow-pressure chamber. Fromthis the gas will pass through the curved arms or pipes into the upperlow-pressure cylinder, and the moment the pressure of the gas in thiscylinder exceeds the desired height the diaphragm will be depressed andthe disk upon the valve-stem be depressed, reseating the valves andclosing the supply off until the pressure in the upper low-pressurecylinder decreases suficiently to IOC allow the valves to be againraised, when the gas may again enter, and so forth continually, as longas there is a ow of gas.

It will be seen that if the valves were of the same diameter the upwardpressure of the gas could not overcome the equal pressure of gasdownward upon the equally-large valve; but the lower Valve being largerthan the upper valve,the equal pressure upon the larger lower l valvewill overcome the equal pressure upon the smaller upper valve, and thusraise the valves; and it will be seen that the pressure in the valvesare very nearly of the same size, the

lower valve being only slightly larger than the upper valve7 a greaterpressure is required to open the valves, and consequently the gaspassing out of the apparatus will be at4 a greatly-reduced pressure,compared with the gas entering the apparatus at the inlet.

As before stated, the apparatus may be used to regulate the flow of anyiluid, gaseous or non-gaseous; but the apparatus is principally intendedfor reducing the pressure of natural gas` coming out of the well,bringing the said gas from adangerous and inconvenient height ofpressure to a convenient and safe height of pressure, rendering the gasmore tractable and transportable.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Let-ters Patent of the United States, is

In a fluid-pressure regulator, the combination of a lower high-pressurechamber having an vinlet-pipe and a valve-seat upon the upper side ofits top, an upper high-pressure chamber having tubes communicating withthe lower chamber, and a stuffing-box in the center of its top, andprovided with a valveseat in the upper side of its bottom, 'register-Aing with thelower seat and with the stuffingbox, and-of a smallerdiameter than the lower seat, a low-pressure cylinder securedl betweenthe chambers and having outlet-apertures in its sides, an upperlow-pressure cylinder having an outlet-pipe in its top, and having adownwardly-blgol bottom lprovided with a oentral aperture and with anair-aperture,

and provided with ourved pipes, entering the' apertures of thelo.W-iofessure cylinder, a. dinphragrn stretched .et the lower end ofthe 11ppor y10W-presenre' cylinder above its bottom, and .a valve-stemhaving valves 4fitting upon the ,seats of the ,high-.pressure chambers,and having its upper portion passing through the stuffing-box of theupper chamber and the aperturein the bottom ofthe upperhcylinder, andprovided with .adisk at its upper .end bearing against the under side.of the diaphragm, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto afxedmy signature in preseno, of two Witnesses.

ALVIN J. STLEWART- Witnesses:

LOUIS BAGGER, AUGUST PETERSON.

